The Path Toward Heaven

“I support Eunuch He,” said Yun Qi.

Hearing this answer, the students from the Scholar Palace of Qi State were stunned. They intended to know what their teacher’s judgment of the political situation in Zhao State was, not whom he would like to support.

Yet, their teacher gave them a definite answer as to whom he would support.

He Zhan ruled the imperial court of Zhao State and humiliated the Emperor, and worst of all, he was a eunuch. His reputation was even worse than Emperor Bai, who was cruel and brutal. Who would like to support him?

Though they were stunned, these students still listened carefully to their teacher, because they believed that their teacher must have adequate reasons for his choice.

Similarly, their teacher praised the Chu Emperor last year even before he sacrificed himself in the fire of the palace hall. Who could understand their teacher at that time?

“King Hejian was a county king, so he has no qualification to be placed in the royal temple.”

The explanation given by Yun Qi was exactly the same as that offered by He Zhan on the street that day.

A student pressed, “But he is nonetheless the real father of the Zhao Emperor.”

“It’s hard to forget the father and son relationship; it’s normal. But, if the Emperor insists on only recognizing King Hejian as his father, he shouldn’t have come to the capital back then.”

Yun Qi continued, “The late emperor was very broad-minded and benevolent, so he wouldn’t make him a criminal only because he didn’t want to become an emperor. The problem is that King Hejian’s Manor didn’t want to give up the opportunity.”

Having heard this, the students realized that it was really the case after some careful thoughts.

“Regardless of whether one adopts a thief as father, or an emperor as father, they have to accept that person as their father after having adopted him.”

Yun Qi took a sip of the tea, and found that a student seemed to have other ideas on his mind. “Of course, as one grows up, their views of the world will change,” he said with a small smile. “But if he wants to change his mind, he should give up the throne and go back to King Hejian’s Manor to become a leisurely king. I believe that he would have a good time to be a carefree king, but he probably doesn’t want to give up the throne.”

The student displayed an expression indicating that he finally understood the reason, and then he said nothing.

“It was King Hejian’s Manor that didn’t want to lose the opportunity back then, and now it is the Emperor who doesn’t want to lose the power. They didn’t want to lose this and that, meaning that they want to have the benefits on both ends.”

Yun Qi said with a smile, “It’s impossible for someone like the Eunuch He to let others take advantage of him. We’ll start off tomorrow.”

Now that the petition was not allowed, Zhao State would encounter a bloody turmoil. The scholars were usually very weak physically, so it was better for them to stay away from it.

In the early morning next day, Yun Qi left the capital of Zhao State with his students and was on his way to the capital of Chu State to have a look at the burned ruins of the palace hall.

Besides the secret agents of the Intelligence Bureau, nobody knew that the great scholar from the Scholar Palace of Qi State had come to the burned palace hall, and even fewer people knew what his evaluation was.

The debate between He Zhan and that scholar on the street soon spread throughout the capital, and then to the far-flung counties.

After returning to his home, the young scholar had finally calmed down and felt a tinge of fear.

Yet, he believed in his own political judgment, thought it was rather safe to do so. In his opinion, the more heated an issue became, the more cautious the important figures in the imperial court grew regarding the issue.

With this thought and high hope for the future in his mind, the scholar drank a jar of wine. Then he passed out after being drunk, and then…he died.

In the early morning next day, a few of his classmates heard of the event that had happened on the street and brought two chickens to the scholar’s house to congratulate him. As they pushed open the door and entered the small courtyard, all they could see was a big pool of blood on the ground and a corpse that was so deformed that it was beyond recognition. The surprised cries and terrified screams broke the silence of the surroundings.

Dozens of law officers, government servants, and coroners encircled the small courtyard. Yet, the news about the scene inside the courtyard had quickly spread out. It was said that the scholar died a dreadful death; it was obviously a hideous murder. There was not a patch of his skin that was not mutilated, and there was not one bone in his body that was not broken. One could easily imagine that he had suffered a great deal before his death.

The more terrible the death was, the angrier the populace became regarding the incident. Moreover, there were many forces behind this incident instigating it. Soon, the incident developed into something that would trigger a major turbulence.

The students of the royal institute and a great number of residents surrounded the Intelligence Bureau in anger. The gloomy office of the bureau appeared not so formidable anymore in the midst of the agitated ocean of people. The angry crowd knocked down the front gate of the Intelligence Bureau and rushed in. To their surprise, they found that it was totally empty inside; no officials or no eunuchs were found there. The files of various sorts and worthwhile items had been moved away beforehand. The famous toilet coated with gold was nowhere to be found.

The government servants responsible for the security of the capital didn’t dare come out to stop the mob. The cavalrymen of the royal army kept their eyes on the event in the distance.

The guards of the city gates stood in a more distant place, watching the event unfolding, with no intention of intervening.

The tides of people rose and ebbed. As the throng of people finally dispersed, all that was left in the Intelligence Bureau was the wreckage.

Innumerable officials in various manors in the capital were discussing about the event, and considering what to do next.

Many officials thought that the Master Eunuch He had dealt with the petition inappropriately, and later was too weak when dealing with the protest. He was like a lion getting old, and not someone to be scared of any longer.

Yet, the Master Eunuch He had ruled the state for so long, and he still had a formidable power over these officials; so most of the officials didn’t dare do anything. They just wanted to wait and see what would happen next.

However, they didn’t have to wait for too long. He Zhan had reacted swiftly on the same night.

The cavalrymen in orange clothing moved briskly among the streets and alleys of the capital, the sounds of the horse hooves were like the rainstorm, making the listeners feel terrified.

Dozens of eunuch swordsmen pushed open one gate of a manor after the other with the written order issued by He Zhan in their hands.

Fourteen generals of the royal army, except for the commander general, were thrown into prison, and seven officials of the city gate bureau were arrested, two of whom were killed right away when trying to resist arrest.

In the early morning next day, the governor of the capital quit his position, the royal institute was shut down, and seventy nine students of the institute who had been involved in the protest were arrested.

The young emperor was not seen during the court meeting, and nobody was behind the pearl curtain. Master Eunuch He who had seldom come to the court meeting came out from the shadowy spot and stood in the front of the grand hall.

He looked at the chancellors and said calmly, “I can understand why you wish to see me die; but I expect you to behave yourself before having me killed.”

These officials had studied the books of the previous master teachers and been paid by the royal family; not everybody could stand such a humiliation. Some of them stood out and denounced the action.

Those officials were then carried out by the guards and beaten in public with the sticks. Soon, one of them was beaten to death.

The event had reached a boiling point. All the officials of the imperial court had left the grand hall in anger and knelt down on the ground in front of the Royal Palace. They wept loudly, and recited the good deeds of the late emperor…

…

…

Inside the royal study room, the young emperor looked at He Zhan with a pale face, a hint of fear and hatred in his eyes. “Weeping outside the palace will be recorded in the history book!” he said sharply.

He Zhan replied nonchalantly, “Do you think I care about that?”

His name would be in the history book, and would be infamous for tens of thousands of years as a eunuch who controlled the emperor.

The young emperor forced himself to calm down and said, “Even if I have done something improper, those chancellors and students are innocent. Please show some mercy.”

He Zhan said, “There is a simple solution if you want to have them released; all I want from you is to go out and make a statement.”

The Emperor was well aware of what statement he was supposed to make.

The young emperor stared into his eyes and claimed, “But he is my father!”

“I don’t think so,” said He Zhan.

The young emperor was furious and exclaimed in a trembling voice, “I am nevertheless an emperor; why do you oppress me so much?”

He Zhan looked at him quietly and said nothing.

Yet, the young emperor understood what he meant. His body turned cold slightly, as he said sharply through his gritted teeth, “My dowager mother won’t let you do whatever you wish to.”

It was just then that a eunuch arrived at the royal study room and announced nervously, “Master Eunuch, you are expected by the Royal Dowager.”

Upon hearing this, the young emperor finally felt relieved.

He Zhan narrowed his eyes and commented, “You call her mother rather easily.”

Having said that, he turned and left the royal study room, heading for the Yuan Palace.

The Royal Dowager had taken charge of the affairs inside the Royal Palace for many years; she still looked attractive and had a more authoritative bearing. But it was natural for her to treat He Zhan differently. “He is still a little child; so it’s unavoidable that he would miss his own father,” she advised He Zhan in mild words. “Though their request is inappropriate and untraditional, all you need to do is chastise them. There is no need to make such a fuss, especially about that young scholar…it’s too much.”

He Zhan didn’t explain the matter regarding the scholar. “I told His Majesty back then that the King Hejian’s Manor had a bunch of disloyal wolves.”

Hearing the “His Majesty”, the Royal Dowager’s countenance turned cold slightly, as she said, “Regardless, I think this child is not too bad. You shouldn’t do anything inappropriate.”

She stared into He Zhan’s eyes in hopes of getting a reassurance of some sort.

He Zhan said, “I won’t do anything to the Emperor. But those disobedient chancellors can’t stay in the imperial court any longer. Your Highness, please issue a decree to expel them from the imperial court.”

The Royal Dowager was furious as she exclaimed, “No official in the imperial court is willing to listen to you; do I have to exile or kill all of them?”

Their conversation ended on a sour note. The matter was a stalemate, unless He Zhan could purge all the officials in the imperial court.

The Royal Dowager wondered who would help govern the state if all the officials were exiled or killed.

It was then that Yun Qi came back from Chu State and asked to meet Master Eunuch He after revealing his identity.

As the leading figure at the Scholar Palace of Qi State, he had traveled the world teaching for twenty years, and he had an unparalleled reputation among the scholars.

Many people thought that Mister Yun Qi requested to meet the infamous Eunuch He obviously in light of what had happened recently.

He Zhan met Yun Qi in the Intelligence Bureau. The ground and surroundings of the offices were cleaned up; as a result, the marks left by the protestors were even more evident.

He Zhan looked at Yun Qi and asked calmly, “Even you think I am wrong, right?”

“You were not wrong during the first part; however, you are wrong for the last part,” said Yun Qi.

He Zhan said, “Here is the place where I gained my power. They smashed it.”

“If Master Eunuch didn’t want it to be smashed, who would be able to do it?” Yun Qi offered. “Since Zhao State is yours, you should cherish it.”

He Zhan sighed, and remarked, “It turns out that you haven’t turned into an old and inflexible scholar yet.”

Yun Qi looked at him quietly and asked, “Do you know me?”

“I heard that you have forgotten everything; it seems to be true,” He Zhan said with a small smile.

Yun Qi didn’t want to think about this matter anymore; he commented casually, “Now that I don’t remember anything, I have nothing to forget.”

He Zhan said, “What you said makes sense. I thank you for coming.”

He thanked Yun Qi for offering him an excuse to release those arrested so the whole event could enter the next stage.

For those released students of the royal institute and the chancellors, their gratitude toward Mister Yun Qi was even more pronounced.

Afterwards, Yun Qi’s reputation had improved a great deal, which was almost as great as a mountain in people’s minds, but He Zhan didn’t care about it.

Everybody thought that this matter would be settled soon, and that Master Eunuch He had shown some weakness; as such, the supporters of the Emperor could do something more to advance their cause…

It was then that the young emperor was poisoned.

The poison was not very strong, not as powerful as strong alcohol or the sharp knife.

The poison circulated slowly inside his body. It didn’t cause any pain. What the poison did was making him feel weak and a subsequent sensation of bewilderment.

It was then that the young emperor realized that all he had prepared over the years were meaningless.

Everything he had done was meaningless, including the favors he granted, the schemes he planned, and the eunuchs and guards he thought he had bribed and won over.

It was all similar to his short career as emperor, which was like an eerie black and white dream.

What he had done was something He Zhan allowed him to, including killing that young scholar.

Sitting on the round stool before the bed, He Zhan said calmly, “I don’t care how brutal your methods are, or how cruel your ideas are, and I also don’t care about the fact that you have killed that young scholar and then blamed me for it, because these are the things I have wanted to teach you to do. It is only that I don’t want to see you on the throne anymore.”

A mocking expression appeared in the young emperor’s eyes, as he demanded, “Did you want to see me on the throne before?”

After a moment of silence, He Zhan said, “You are right. What I’m doing now is intended to fulfill my promise to His Majesty.”